IRAQ WAR GETS MUCH WORSE
Up to 12 Marines possibly killed in attack

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

Insurgents and rebellious Shiites mounted a string of attacks across Iraq's south and U.S. Marines launched a major assault on the turbulent city of Fallujah on Tuesday. Up to a dozen Marines, two more coalition soldiers and at least 66 Iraqis were reported killed.

Reports from the city of Ramadi, near Fallujah, said dozens of Iraqis attacked a Marine position near the governor's palace, a senior defense official said from Washington. "A significant number" of Marines were killed, and initial reports indicate it may be up to a dozen, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

And

Five Marines were killed Monday -- one in Fallujah and the others on the western outskirts of Baghdad. A U.S. soldier was killed in Baghdad Tuesday, a day after two more were killed there. On Sunday, two soldiers were killed in Kirkuk and Mosul. Excluding the report out of Ramadi on Tuesday evening, at least 614 American troops have died in Iraq since the war began.

And the already complicated situation appears to be getting even more complicated. This Shiite cleric guy that US forces are now gunning for, Muqtada al-Sadr al-Sadr, is something of a startling development:

Al-Sadr issued a statement saying he was ready to die to oust the Americans. He urged his followers to resist foreign forces.

"America has shown its evil intentions, and the proud Iraqi people cannot accept it. They must defend their rights by any means they see fit," the al-Sadr statement said.

"I'm prepared to have my own blood shed for what is holy to me," he said.

Al-Sadr moved to his main office in Najaf, in an alley near the city's holiest shrine, according to a top aide, Sheik Qays al-Khaz'ali. Hundreds of militiamen were protecting the office Tuesday, but there was no independent confirmation al-Sadr was there.

Perhaps more worrisome than the current fight with al-Sadr's forces is the possibility that he will start drawing support from more mainstream Shiite leaders who have largely supported the Americans until now.

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The fiery al-Sadr, if you haven't heard, not only seems to be able to motivate a not so small number of young Iraqis to attack American and Coalition forces, but he also commands his own personal 2,000 man army. It's like these guys are coming out of the woodwork. Kind of like...hmmm, should I say it again? Kind of like Vietnam?

Whether that analogy is fair or not, it is certain that in the past few days the already grim situation in Iraq has gotten much worse. Are we ready to let the UN take over yet?

I thought not.

Sigh.

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